Causing Rain
by DarknessFlameWolf
Summary: AU. One-shot. Sakura didn't know what to expect when Sasuke came back, but being his personal nurse was not it. She dutifully journeys to the Uchiha compound every day, but when she catches a fever and is bedridden for three days, a certain Uchiha makes a house call of his own. "I have separation anxiety." SasuSaku.


_She was never one to give up; she had that whole "silent love" thing going on. But, sometimes, you just gotta move on._

_**A/N**__**:**_** Haha, I live! And I have finished this SasuSaku one-shot! Finishing this gives me two victories: I finished this during SasuSaku month (sweet!) and this completes my quartet of one-shots! Yes! The _Pinky Swear_ mini-series is now complete. Wanna know a little fun fact? It took 4 years to finish the quartet. As I have said before, if you want to see where this all began, start with _Pinky Swear_ (ShikaIno), _The Kit in Us All_ (NaruHina), and _Control_ (NejiTen). _Causing Rain_ is the last installment. They are all independent of each other, though, so you don't need to read the others.**

**Moving on, this one-shot has probably been the biggest pain in my ass. Ever. I mean, I had a partial outline, and these two couldn't make them do what I wanted them to even if their lives depended on it. In the end, I like where it went and I feel like everyone stayed in character. So, carry on!**

**Disclaimer: I no own Naruto.**

* * *

"**Yubikiri genman,**

**Uso tsuitara hari senbon nomasu,**

**Yubi katta"**

* * *

6 months quarantine from the general public.

10 months of supervision after quarantine.

12 months probation from shinobi duties.

Undetermined date for mental health review.

Those were the conditions of Sasuke's return to the village. Considering a typical missing-nin-turned-terrorist would have been put to death; those conditions were heaven-sent. Most of the village felt Sasuke was being favored due to his lenient sentence—and he was. Not because of his wonderful character, the council immediately and fanatically demanded his death, but Naruto fervently pleaded Tsunade until she succumbed with heavy conditions. She confined Sasuke to the Uchiha compound and set ANBU about the perimeter. He was prohibited from leaving; being depleted of chakra made him extremely vulnerable. A select few were permitted to visit; however, no one except Naruto would set foot near the compound.

Sakura sighed, staring past the window into the haze of pouring rain.

No one except Naruto…and her.

Sasuke hadn't spoken since his return to the village. Both he and Naruto had returned horribly injured; however, neither man would explain what occurred. After Tsunade healed them to stable conditions, there was too much tissue damage to heal at once; she assigned Sakura to check on Sasuke daily for healing. Sakura was ecstatic at first: A chance to reconcile and forgive. A chance to move forward. But after two months of no progress, Sakura detached herself from the situation. At three months, Ino proposed a plan to get their circle of friends: Ino, Hinata, Tenten, and herself together with the men of their dreams: Shikamaru, Naruto, Neji, and…Sasuke. It had given her such hope—it truly did.

Sakura pushed herself out of the chair she was leaning in. Briskly, she walked out of her office in the hospital to the double doors that led to the stairs; the elevators gave her too much time to think lately.

That was two months ago. There was no hope for a relationship. Sasuke had less than a month before he could leave the compound and even then what could be done? Share a pet, break down and confess, _hope_ he would notice her feeble attempts? She scoffed as she reached the ground floor. She was done begging. The girls had urged her to reconsider, but her resolve was firm.

Passing in the lobby, Sakura smiled gently and waved goodnight to the receptionist behind the desk.

"Don't you have an umbrella, Haruno-san? The rain doesn't seem to be letting up at all."

Sakura blinked thoughtfully before widening her smile into a grin. "I'll be fine. If I run fast, I'll be indoors before a drop hits me." She winked. The receptionist looked doubtful for a moment; as if unsure it was a joke.

"Alright…but be careful. Have a good night, then."

"You too."

Rushing out into the rain, she marched a few yards before stopping and looked up at the sky. The rain began almost a week ago—when she had decided to give up and let the numbness take over. "You're just fucking with me now, huh?" Sakura mused, shaking her head roughly. She was already soaked to the core. At least she wore long black slacks and a plain long-sleeved shirt. The collar stretched with the weight of the rain, exposing one of her pale shoulders. They clung to her small frame uncomfortably, but offered protection against the icy beating of the weather.

Trotting down the street, she kept her mind busy. Hinata and Naruto had developed a steady relationship. Sakura was proud of her: Hinata deserved her chance to be happy. Ino and Shikamaru were…doing their usual thing except now it involved a lot of make-up sex. Sakura blanched. Tenten and her boyfriend of a month, Neji, carried a deep connection between each other that required almost no verbal communication. Everyone around her had become so happy, and here was Sakura. Causing rain.

Soon, too soon, she arrived to her destination: The Uchiha compound. She grimaced. "Ne, ne, has Naruto visited today?"

Sai appeared from the shadows. He had personally volunteered to monitor Sasuke. "This morning. Had an obnoxiously loud conversation." He picked his ear with his pinky as if the episode was still causing him stress.

Her eyes narrowed. "_Conversation_? They openly chat it up while I'm stuck with silence every damn day?" The rain felt heavier. _Fuck all of you._ She waved him off and stomped into the complex before Sai could respond. She felt his eyes burning a hole into her back. Turning a corner, Sakura glared daggers at the stoic man. "Go away, Sai!"

Sakura rubbed her temples as she found Sasuke's dwelling. Knocking, she waited. _He never answers the door._ Pursing her lips, the young kunoichi rounded the perimeter. Sasuke was leaning against the pillar of his back porch, one leg slung over the other. His oynx orbs focused onto the murky distance. Sakura's right eye twitched irritably, large spears of rain jabbing her small frame. _You could at least acknowledge me!_

"It's time for your session," she muttered. His eyes flickered toward her for the briefest of moments that Sakura thought she'd imagined it.

"Hn."

The kunoichi raised an eyebrow in surprise. A response, despite it being a noise, was new. Standing in front of him under the protection of the porch, rain water pooled at her feet. Despite being drained of chakra for months, he still looked solid and strong. Powerful. Dangerous. His raven locks were untouched by the pouring rain unlike her choppy strawberry mane. Her gaze moved openly down his body to his crossed legs. "You need to move your legs." Her eyes returned to his face. "And unzip your shirt."

At first he didn't respond, and she was about to repeat herself. Then his legs separated and widened enough for a person to fit in-between them. His white shirt came soon after, revealing a gruesome wound stretched diagonally over his chiseled chest before tapering off mid-rib under his left breast. His arms rested over his bent knees. Sakura kneeled, taking the open space between his legs and balanced on her shins. She frowned. "I told you to bandage this with the ointment I gave you. Otherwise it could become infected."

"Hn."

Sakura furrowed her brows in confusion as her palms began to glow a soft lime. Sasuke had never made so much as a grunt since she had been treating him, so although she felt almost gleeful he was responding to her, suspicion bit at her insides. Her fingertips feathered his torso.

Compared to her freezing body, his skin was hot to the touch. She was tempted to snuggle into it. "I forgot my umbrella today. You'd think it'd be difficult to forget due to the constant rain," she looked thoughtful for a second, keeping her eyes on his torso, "although, it hasn't rained this harshly before." That was true. Before now, it had always been a light drizzle.

Sasuke didn't respond, but that was expected. This was the Uchiha she had come to know in the recent months.

"What did you and Naruto get into a fight about?" That got his attention. Sakura felt his glare singeing the soaked locks on her skull. The message was clear: _Who dared...? _The medic refused to meet his furious scrutiny. "Sai told me you were having a 'loud conservation'," she explained curtly. _You two are only ever loud when you're arguing._ Everything was starting to feel uncomfortably warm. Her hands hovered at the edge of the wound; the healing session was over.

Suddenly, her vision spun. Sakura leaned back and blinked slowly. "I-I am going to take my leave...I'll come wrap it tomorrow..." she phrased out oddly, unable to control her stutter. In her peripheral, she noted Sasuke's glare soften into something close to curiosity. Scooting out from between his legs, Sakura mindlessly used the Uchiha's shin to stand. Her mind felt too fuzzy to feel him tense from the unnecessary touch. "Bye...kun..." she mumbled, unsure of her words. The pink-haired kunoichi disappeared into the raining haze.

* * *

Sakura stumbled into her apartment. Her body ached in sticky sickness and as she peeled off her freshly soaked garments, the world spun again. A trail of crumpled clothing followed in her wake. For a moment, she had a sense of clarity and realized she was in her bed wearing an overly-large T-shirt and dry panties. Her right hand was holding her cellphone near her face. The text screen was open and had Ino as the recipient.

_Ino. Siqck. Cant . trrw._

Then everything went dark.

* * *

Three days.

Three foggy days had passed before Sakura had any type of mental alertness. Ino had gotten the pinkette's text and had been taking care of her. While Ino kept her drugged and monitored her health, Hinata had regularly stopped by to make sure she ate and washed and dried her dirty clothing. The blonde chattered nonstop, but Sakura could only pull bits and pieces from her medicine-clogged memory. Tsunade had temporarily assigned another medic the oh-so rewarding task of caring for the isolated Uchiha. Ino had volunteered, she did make a pinky promise to Sakura that she wanted to keep, but Shikamaru was so fervently against it that Ino had to withdraw her request.

_I don't blame you._

Many of their friends felt he couldn't be trusted, and with Sasuke and Naruto's refusal to offer an explanation, it would be stupid to not be cautious. _I suppose that would describe me. Stupid._ Sakura turned over, the hardwood floor of her apartment providing a soothing pressure. The bed felt too hot and stuffy; she hadn't been able to stay on it for more than a few drug-induced naps. Stretching her neck, Sakura's nose bumped into something. Sakura blinked. It was a small plastic cup with medication; Sakura groaned as she twisted her body to be able to grab the cup. Swallowing the pills, the young kunoichi fell into a dreamless sleep.

She could have been asleep for minutes, possibly hours, but the pink-haired medic felt like she needed to do something in the back of her mind.

"Wake up." She cringed. That didn't sound right. Why would sleep tell her to wake up with such a masculine voice? _Stop it, sleep_. "I said _wake up_, Sakura." The said ninja groaned. _So bossy_. Half-asleep, Sakura sat up, her eyes refusing to open. Her head drooped, ready to fall back onto her pillow when the masculine voice of sleep growled.

_Wait…_

Her body suddenly alert, Sakura snapped her eyes open and immediately focused on the dark silhouette leaning against her open window. Her emerald orbs narrowed and widened so quickly, she was clutching her dizzy head as she spoke.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" _Please tell me I'm still sleeping!_

He didn't reply, but she could feel his glare wearing a hole into her side. Blinking away the stars behind her eyes, her emerald gaze focused on him once again. "What are you doing here?" Realization dawned on her, "You are still on quarantine! You cannot be here! The ANBU are supposed to be watching you!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and pursed his lips, looking almost offended. He leaned back against the open window. The moonlight exposed his masculine figure, the darkness of his hair, and the brilliant crimson of his Sharingan. "They are watching me."

Sakura was on overload. The man of her dreams was actually holding a conversation with her, could actively use chakra for Kami-knows-how-long and physically sought her out. She rubbed her temples; she could feel that her sickness was gone—only a residual dizziness was left in its wake. Letting out a long and quiet breath, the fight returned to her and reenergized lime eyes targeted the Uchiha. "How dare you use the Sharingan on Sai! He volunteered himself to help babysit you so we would know every step the council made regarding you. Sai is part of Team Seven whether you want to accept it or not!" The pinkette snapped, her fists clenching her sheets in a death-grip. Sasuke's left eye twitch, rather surprised where the discussion turned.

"And why do you care so much about what happens to him?" His voice was calm, but held a dangerous edge.

"He's my friend and teammate," she countered. She remained rooted to the makeshift bed, afraid she would lose her nerve if she tried to stand. "And, if you care to remember, he actually _speaks_ to me."

The raven-haired man looked away. The moonlight traced his strong jawline while she mentally traced the tendons of his neck. Uchiha Sasuke was still as handsome as always—still as deadly. She looked away, anywhere but his face.

"What do you want? Why are you here?"

That's when the smell hit her. It was a scent she had become all too accustomed to: The repugnant scent of infection. She was out of her cocoon of warmth in a blur, unzipping Sasuke's shirt before he could even protest. The wound spread across his chest was screaming of neglect and poor management. Sakura's glowing hands outlined his sliced skin, starting to undo the damage that was done.

"Hasn't anyone been cleaning this at all?" Sakura snapped, openly furious. Her head was starting to pound due to the rapid and sudden movement, but she ignored the pain, her medic instincts too strong.

"Hn."

It only took her seconds to decipher his meaning. "You haven't let anyone near you?!" Oh, now she was pissed. Her scathing green eyes glared into his bored rubies. "What were you thinking, you moron? An infection can kill you! You're so irresponsible!"

He glared at her insults, but remained quiet.

"Do _not_ give me the silent treatment again!" Sakura stopped healing him and backed away. The wound was half-healed and scarred. It wasn't as deep as the last time she saw it, so the infection hadn't spread that far. "Why are you here?"

He looked at her before looking away, his eyes unreadable. "I have separation anxiety."

Sakura started. Cocking her head to the side, her emerald orbs studied him. "You chased every nurse away because you have…separation anxiety." It sounded more like a question than a statement. He refused to meet her gaze. She approached him slowly. Gently, the medic-nin took his face into her hands. Only she could be this close; only she could yell at him, insult him; only she could hold him this gently. "Why can't I ever understand you?"

Sasuke looked into her eyes, and she suddenly felt nervous. She tried to retract her hands, but the Uchiha swiftly held them in place against his cheeks with his own rough hands. Leaning forward, Sasuke pressed his forehead to her own. His eyes never wavered. "Sakura, I—"

"I feel like I'm almost interrupting something."

Sakura turned her head slightly to the mono-toned intruder, embarrassed and surprised. "Sai?" When her eyes flickered back to Sasuke in confusion, his were tightly shut, his teeth bared in a snarl.

"I told you I would return when I was finished," Sasuke growled and pulled away from Sakura but didn't release her. The tomoes of his Sharingan spun rapidly as he glared at Sai.

Sai's face was as stoic as ever, his ANBU mask perched on top of his head. "I said 10 minutes, Uchiha. And you're at 12. I can't be the one that reports again." He looks at Sakura and smiled. "I hope you had fun. I have to take your boyfriend back now."

Sakura blinked before a blush spread across her face like wildfire. "He's not!" She quickly tore her hands from Sasuke's grasp and ran her fingers through her knotted hair. _Someone please kill me._

Sai quirked an eyebrow. He was perfectly balanced on the ledge of the window. He focused his attention on Sasuke, openly peering at the Uchiha's unzipped shirt. "Really? Too bad. Come on, Uchiha. Before someone becomes the wiser and you're found out." Without another word, Sai disappeared. He knew Sasuke would follow soon enough. The said Uchiha gritted his teeth. Nothing was going as planned. Sakura watched him walk to the open window.

"Um…" Sakura didn't know what to say or even why she opened her mouth. The dark-haired man glanced at her before looking at his exit. His eyes narrowed as if he was fighting himself. Before Sakura could blink, he was in front of her again. "Sasuke…?" was all she could say before his mouth was on hers in a dominating kiss. His left hand snaked into her hair and pulled at her knotted rosette locks. Sakura's eyes fluttered closed as she gave into him. His tongue invaded her mouth and her tongue openly welcomed him. Eventually, her own hands were tangled in his hair, enjoying everything he was offering.

And all too soon, it ended.

Sasuke pulled away and pressed his lips to her ear, his husky voice sending shivers down her spine. "We will talk about this tomorrow. Get some sleep." And he was gone.

Sakura touched her fingers to her bruised lips. Uchiha Sasuke just made out with Haruno Sakura. The medic-nin blinked before running to her window and slamming it shut. The rain outside had stopped not long ago, it seemed. Without bothering to check herself in the mirror or changing from her sleeping clothes, Sakura charged out the door.

She had no idea what happened or where she stood with the lonely Uchiha, but she felt they had taken a major step in the right direction.

* * *

**Final Thoughts:** So how was that?! What about that ending? Man, these two just won't make things clear cut, but it was a good ending for their story. These two are some moody little brats and were very difficult to write with. I did personally love Sai in this, he didn't say much, but I felt like he just knew everything. And to be a little more clear, no Sasuke didn't do anything to Sai; Sai wanted to help and planned this little crusade with Sasuke. And in case anyone was wondering Sasuke and Naruto were arguing about Sakura. :P

After this, I'm going to go back and edit the three previous ones to make sure there are no serious errors. After that, I have a special treat for my **_The Kit in Us_**_ **All** _fans, so that's what I'll be working on next. ;] Thank you everyone, this journey was awesome and I'm ready for my next adventure! R&R!


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